Gardeners' Notes:

Got my first one in the late 70's bare root from Don Buzzingham in Texas. Grew in a pot for years in IL. Then wintered out in AZ. I have grown 3 types. Bloom every summer. Suffer winter damage. No extra water. Full sun. Am now keeping "Macho Mocha" in pots to keep it more attractive. It is beautiful, but leaves break easily.

Central Phoenix --- Although I remain confused on Manfreda identification, I believe I have Manfreda maculosa. I have several plants, all propagated from a plant collected in the wild in Texas in the mid-1980s. It is small for a Manfreda, but quite vigorous. The flower stalk is about 18 inches to 2 feet tall and the flowers are white with burgundy blush on the outer edges. Their multiple heads cluster closely. These plants have survived many freezing winters into the lower 20s in the ground and in pots. They get water ranging from once a month to weekly in summer and little to none in winter. While I grow most of mine in shade, some get substantial afternoon sun and those tend to do best.

I've been growing this plant in my yard for over one year. It has survived both the summer (115 degrees +) and the winter (a 6" blanket of snow) in Las Vegas and is doing quite nicely. The flowers are interesting.

This is a low growing native of South Texas with rosettes of succulent blue-green toothed leaves sporting an abundance of maroon colored spots. The plants reach a maximum height and width of one foot, which makes them the perfect size for most garden and container settings. The tubular two-foot-tall blooms open a greenish-white and fade reddish-pink as they age. Manfreda maculosa grows from underground rhizomes and needs a very well drained soil with full sun to partial shade. It becomes deciduous to survive droughts and can survive serious freezes without damage once established in the garden. Chopped rhizomes of Manfreda maculosa were once used as a source of soap and shampoo in the republic of Texas. Caterpillars of the rare Manfreda Giant Skipper (Stallingsia maculosa) depend on this p... read morelant as a food source. Another must-have native Texas bulb/plant that grows good in zones 8-9!

I love this plant.....have moved it twice to get it away from any source of water. It doesn't like to be wet at all, so now it sits where it gets no water, but will get some dappled late afternoon shade to keep the leaves from burning.